One of the tricks to being a wine bargain hunter is to know where to shop in order to find good bargain wines. Many people tout Trader Joe’s as the place to go for good cheap wine. I’ve actually been rather critical of some of my finds there in the past. I’ve also previously written […]
French Wine
Ferraton Père & Fils, La Matinière, Crozes-Hermitage
When beginning to write this review I was surprised to realize this is the first time I’ve reviewed a wine from Crozes-Hermitage. I’m a big fan of Rhone wines and have found many great value wines from the region over the years, but most of those have been from the southern Rhone while Crozes-Hermitage is […]
Bila-Haut, Cotes Du Roussillon Villages 2015
I always like to find consistent, reliably-good and affordable wines. That can be a hard thing. Sometimes you find a bargain wine you love and then the next year it’s not so good. Or you find that hidden gem, but so does everyone else and the price begins to creep up. This wine, Bila-Haut by Michel […]
Ferraton Père & Fils, Samorëns Côtes du Rhône, Rosé
Summer is still with us and it’s still prime season to enjoy a rosé — although, I enjoy rosé year round. Some of the best rosé comes from the Rhône region in southern France. One of my favorite appellations there is Tavel, an appellation that creates only rosé and some phenomenal ones at that. But while […]
Ferraton Père & Fils, Côtes du Rhône, Samorëns Rouge
One of my “go to” regions for great value (i.e., good quality at a reasonable price) is southern France — and more specifically Côtes du Rhône. I’m sure part of this has to do with my taste preferences, but I’ve also found that more often than not I can find good wine from this region […]
Domaine Du Théron, Prestige, Malbec
A lot of folks I know associate malbec with Argentina, and for good reason. The grape does well there and a lot of delicious malbec comes from Argentina. However, that’s not the only place producing malbec. It’s actually one of the six grapes allowed in Bordeaux. And in southwest France there’s a region called Cahors […]
Forget-Brimont, Brut Premier Cru Champagne
Sometimes we all need a splurge. You need to treat yo’ self! And when it comes to a wine splurge, Champagne is near the top of the list for me. Champagne is typically not cheap, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find good value. Value is all a matter of perspective. I’m often asked if more […]
Michel Chapoutier, Bila-Haut Rosé – Reliably good
This is not the first vintage of this wine I’ve reviewed. A couple years ago I reviewed the 2013 vintage, which was quite tasty. And in general I’ve found wines from Michel Chapoutier to be consistently good. This wine come from southern France and more specifically the Languedoc-Roussillon region. As a guy who seeks out […]
Bila-Haut, Cotes Du Roussillon Villages – Revisited
Hello again, everyone. It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve posted anything and those couple weeks were filled with a busy schedule at the day job along with a series of technology challenges. First files on this website spontaneously went corrupt and I had to restore the site and then my hard drive on my […]
Michel Chapoutier, Vignes de Bila-Haut, Côtes du Roussillon White
Over the years I’ve been reviewing wines I’ve found myself taking notice of producers and importers who are consistently good. One of those I’ve been drawn to over the past year or two is Michel Chapoutier. I’ve tried a number of Chapoutier wines and I have yet to find one that isn’t good, much less […]